‘Supermani’: CNN contributor falls for obvious Iran satire as US journos struggle to understand who Soleimani really was

Neoconservative mainstream media favorite Michael Weiss appears to have fallen for a satirical piece on Qassem Soleimani that claimed the man did not cast a shadow and was nicknamed “Supermani.”

Daily Beast senior editor and frequent CNN guest Michael Weiss is earning plenty of mockery on social media following him appearing to fall for a clearly satirical story on the legend of Qassem Soleimani, the late Iranian general recently assassinated by the US military. 

“It was a well cultivated (and mythologized) aura, which the U.S. has also played into, treating him as a formidable adversary. He was nicknamed ‘Supermani’ for his ability to fight four or five wars simultaneously. And fight them effectively. So no, he’s not easily replaced,” Weiss tweeted about Soleimani following the man’s death.

The “Supermani” nickname got the attention of Karl Sharro, the writer who penned the satirical piece on Soleimani in 2014. It was also him who gave the general the “Supermani” nickname and made up that “mythologized” ability of the general to be in several places at once. 

Sharro responded to Weiss by blowing up his “aura” claim, saying that only media heads clueless to the satirical nature of his post actually picked up on that.

“Lol, no he wasn't, I made it up in the post above and several media outlets and pundits fell for it, believing it to be true,” he tweeted. 

After a Twitter user responded to Sharro by calling him a “credible source” for creating nicknames, Weiss tried to double down on his original tweet.

“Yes. You should give yourself more credit. US officials have used this term in interviews, no doubt picking it up from the meme you started,” he tweeted.

Many commentators saw Weiss as embarrassing himself by not admitting to taking satire as fact and continued the mockery. 

“Really interested to hear your expert IR insights on Iran's Supreme Leader Megahamenei (strength of ten men, can read minds) and other Middle Eastern super villains,” wrote Micheál, adding that he just “can't wait for the next great Neocon graphic novel.”

Unfortunately for Weiss, he’s already got a reputation of a neoconservative pundit who often talks on global politics and countries he has no direct knowledge of – which incidentally includes Russia. 

The blunder drops as the collective mainstream media seemed confused on how exactly to report on the Soleimani death. CNBC editor-at-large John Harwood even took to Twitter to ask whether “assassinate” is the right word to describe what happened to Soleimani. 

What ensued what a debate about congressional authorization and whether Soleimani’s death could be compared to the death of other terrorists like Osama bin Laden, since the general, unlike the Al-Qaeda leader, was an officer of a UN member state’s military. 

From Weiss falling for satire to journalists confused on how to even report on the story, it would appear that the MSM may just need to admit they’re a little out of their depth on this one.

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